La Fayette
The La Fayette-class units are light multi-mission frigates built by DCNS and operated by French Marine Nationale. In Game Info It is one of the most widely used frigates in the game due to its reliability and uniqueness. Firstly, it has the highest ECM of anything in the game, at 60 percent it is unlikely that any single missile will hit, on top of this, its croatale missiles have an 80% hit chance and a decent range, meaning that enemy missiles fired at it that aren't thrown off by the ecm will be shot down, these missiles also do area of effect damage and can easily bring down helicopter swarm, all this makes them very good for aa cover. It is, however, worth noting that the La Fayette only carries 24 Croatales and they fire 2 at each target, so they will very quickly run out missiles unless paired with an lcu, and if it runs out it will be almost helpless, with only its main gun, its ecm, and 2 small 20mm (?) cannons that are absolutely hopeless. Still, it has a better chance of survival than most ships as its main gun actually has a 40% chance of hitting an incoming missile, and, as mentioned above, the ecm is very effective, still, it will be very vulnerable without its Croatales. With an ASM launcher that fires 8 missiles in two four missile bursts, it can be useful for fleet duties, however, it is often a bad idea to pair it with ships like the type 21 and the Po-Hang as group movement is awkward due to the fact that the La Fayette must be side on, whilst the Po-Hangs, Type 21's, Pegasi and Hatsuyukis have to point towards other ships. Also bear in mind that after the first burst is fired, it will turn 180 degrees so as to fire the left set of launchers. Its naval gun is decent, with a very good ground range, pretty good accuracy, and a decent HE value, making it good for shore bombardment. Finally for the pros, the La Fayette is unique due to its "medium" stealth level, making it the only ship with a stealth rating higher than poor. This can be very useful for sneaking past enemy fleets for shore bombardment, or for providing an anti air stealth net off of the coastline. On top of this, the La Fayette has "exceptional" sea optics, meaning that against other ships, it can see its opponents long before they can sea it. Unfortunately, this stealth ability is unsuitable for use amongst any ship other than another La Fayette as the rest of the group will give away the La Fayettes position. It should be worth noting that stealth does not equal invisibility, it can still be spotted by ships from close-medium ranges, and can be spotted by recon helis (although the la fayette will generally shoot them down before the other team notices) Finally, the disadvantages, it is the 3rd most expensive BLUFOR ship at 200 points, although that is cheap for its skill set. Its other main flaw is that it is very, very slow, at only 20 knots, so it has a hard time catching up with other ships. So whilst it can be used in a fleet, it is at risk of falling behind and being left alone whilst moving. As a result, the lafayette is best at protecting allied shorelines, providing anti air, or sneaking past enemy fleets, in the latters case, only accompany it with other La Fayettes. Bear in mind, stealthing it can be risky, as if it is noticed, you will have at most 6 ships in an even match, and they will be very vulnerable without screens. Weapons Gallery WRD_Screenshot_LaFayette_2.png WRD_Screenshot_LaFayette_3.png See Also * Category:Red Dragon naval support